Red sand
by Lilac peach
Summary: Eleanor Lancaster is trapped on the island with a group of increasingly savage boys, which side will she take for the final battle between civilisation and savagery?
1. The crash

I felt cold water washing over my body as I opened my eyes. I was on a beach but had no idea why so I assumed it was a dream, yet the sand felt so real. I looked around and saw the wreckage of a plane. Oh god this was real, the plane crash! It was the middle of the night and the Island was silent apart from the gentle sound of the sea washing against the shore. It looked like I was the only survivor; there wasn't evidence of another being as far as I could see. I heaved myself up and groaned in pain as all my body was aching. I was covered in bruises and cuts from the crash and my clothes were in tatters. I washed the sand out of my hair and attempted to untangle it. It's not until you're trapped on a desert island that you start to properly appreciate the simple things in life like hairbrushes.

I walked into the forest in search for any other survivors but I walked slowly, everything was aching and I felt exhausted. My stomach rumbled loudly which made me realise how hungry was. I saw some fruit up a tree but I couldn't muster the strength to climb it so I carried on walking through the forest. After a few minutes my legs lost the strength to keep me standing and I dropped to the floor, I laid amongst the leaves and stared at the stars through the canopy of leaves.

_I was sitting on a plane looking out the window at the sea, admiring its calmness when a flash of lightening made me jump back from the window. The flash was soon followed by a huge crack of thunder and the small children on the plane began to scream in terror. I remembered the days when I too used to be scared of lightening but now it just irritated me. I was sitting with my eyes shut trying to tune out the racket the children were making when the plane jolted and my eyes snapped open. _

"_The wings been struck!" a child screamed from across the aisle, looking out a window on the left of the plane. I couldn't see it from where I sat but I felt the plane start to tilt to the left. Rain was pouring down outside and there was another flash of lightening. My stomach lurched as the plane started dropping and I grabbed onto the hand of a boy sitting next to me without realising at first but before I had time to get embarrassed about it the plane started spiralling downwards towards the sea. I shut my eyes and squeezed the boy's hand tightly._


	2. The hunters

I woke up and squinted as the bright sunlight shone in my face. I got up from the leaves and rubbed my back. Note to self, never sleep on the floor again. I was starving so I set about searching for some fruit I could eat when I heard cries from somewhere else in the woods. I could hear several pairs of feet crashing through the forest, I wasn't alone after all! As the sound got closer I could hear voices chanting.

"Kill the pig! Cut her throat! Bash her in!" They were hunters. I crept through the creepers as quietly as I could and tried to spot the source of the chanting when I was knocked to the ground.

There was a huge group of boys standing over me wielding spears which were presently pointed at my face.

"Please don't hurt me!" I screamed, shielding my face with my arms.

"Boys stop, it's a girl!" The oldest looking one shouted before pulling me to my feet. We all stood there staring at each other in shock.

"Who are you?" the boy asked, planting his spear into the earth point down.

"Eleanor Lancaster, were you all in the plane crash too?"

"Yeah we've been here a few days, why haven't I seen you before?"The boy said.

"I woke up on the beach last night, I guess I was swept up a bit later than you lot. What's your name?"

"I'm Jack Merridew, I'm seventeen. I'm the oldest one here and these are my hunters. That's Roger, that's Maurice, and there's heaps of little'uns here. We've never really bothered learning their names, there's too many of them."

"Are there others here?"

"Yeah there are more boys back at camp, we'll take you to them now if you like" he said picking up his spear.

I followed Jack and the hunters through the forest and Jack threw a piece of fruit to me

"You must be starving, eat this. Be warned they're pretty sour but you'll get used to them"

I thanked him and bit into the fruit as I walked. God it was sour.

"Urgh!" I cringed as the sour taste filled my mouth and I eventually managed to swallow some.

"Told you" Jack laughed. He was in trousers which he'd ripped so they were mid-length and he didn't have a shirt on. I was always jealous of boys in the way that they could take their shirts off if they were too hot but girls couldn't as it would be indecent. His skin must have tanned since their arrival; no British boy was naturally that brown. Or perfect. Shut up Eleanor shut up.


	3. The chief

As we walked into camp I saw a large group of boys, the oldest around Jack's age and the youngest looked about 6 perhaps. The boys fell silent as I walked onto the platform where they sat. I fiddled with my hair, feeling quite uncomfortable with all their eyes fixed on me.

"Who's this?" a boy asked getting up from the log where he sat

"We found her in the woods; she says she just woke up from the crash last night" Jack replied

"My name's Eleanor Lancaster, I'm sixteen" I say to the group

"We nearly killed her when we were hunting! Thought she was a pig!"

"Shut up!" Jack hissed at the little'un

"Well my name's Ralph" said the boy "I'm sixteen too and I was voted chief so I'm in charge of things"

"But I'm in charge of the hunters" Jack added

"Don't talk unless I've asked you or you have the conch" Ralph said and Jack rolled his eyes.

"Boys, introduce yourselves" Ralph said turning to the group of boys sitting on the log behind where he stood"

"I'm Piggy, sixteen" said a chubby bespectacled boy

"I'm Sam and he's Eric," Said one of the twins "We're fifteen" they said in unison.

"I'm Simon, I'm thirteen" squeaked a small boy on the end of the log.

"I'm Henry" "I'm Charlie" "I'm Percival" "I'm Peter" Chirped some of the little'uns. They all looked pretty similar to me so I knew I wouldn't remember who was who. Know I knew why the older ones just referred to them as the 'Little'uns'

"Well my hunters and I are going to go back to the forest to catch that pig we were out to get" Jack said leading his hunters off the platform

"Oh sorry!" I shouted down to them, feeling guilty I'd got in the way of them getting food.

"Don't worry about it" Jack said smiling at me before disappearing into the trees.

I looked around the group of boys then it dawned on me

"Am I the only girl here?" I asked

"Yeah, you're the only one. Are you ok?" Ralph said looking at my worried face

"Huh? Oh yeah I'm fine! Is there somewhere I can go have a wash? I feel filthy" I said covering up the fact I was mentally freaking out. I was stuck on an island with a load of boys, with no adults in charge.

"Yeah there's a bathing pool this way" Ralph said taking my hand and leading me off the platform

"Well it's more of a pond really but we call it the bathing pool! ..Why are you looking at me like that?"

His hand felt strangely familiar, I know it sounds weird but I felt like I'd done this before.

"Hey you're the boy I was next to on the plane crash! I grabbed onto your hand when we were crashing!" I exclaimed

"Oh my God you're right! I remembered there had been a girl next to me on the plane but when we got onto the island you weren't there and I assumed you'd died!"

"Yeah sorry I was kind of squeezing you hand to death on the plane, it was just instinct! Just grab onto anything you know!"

"No, no it's fine. It was quite nice really" He smiled at me and led me to the bathing pool.

We got to the bathing pool (pond) which was surrounded by big boulders which made it quite cosy and private. This was handy as I didn't want to be seen without my clothes on.

"Ok see you later Ralph!" I say as I start unbuttoning my blouse

"Enjoy your bath" He said strolling away. God he was attractive, but then so was Jack. Stop it Eleanor stop it.


	4. The fire

While I washed I gave my clothes a wash too to get rid of the sand and dirt, while they dried on the boulders I thought of home. I'd been there less than a day and I was already missing the simple necessities like showers. It was unlikely I'd get off the Island as we were in the middle of nowhere and the thought of spending my life stuck here living off fruit and pork with no comfy bed, no proper toilet and no television seemed like hell. Also I didn't have a single other girl to talk to, just boys with their bad manners, their disgusting habits like nose picking and God knows what else. Although on the plus side Jack and Ralph weren't exactly hard on the eyes.

I must've dozed off while I was in there as when I woke up the sun was starting to set.I got out the bathing pool and slipped on my now clean blouse and skirt, I didn't bother with shoes or socks as the ground here was just sand or leaves -nothing that could particularly hurt my feet. I combed through my wet hair with my fingers which made it a bit straighter and I walked back to the platform but no one was there. I saw smoke coming from the top of the mountain further along the island. They must be having a campfire I thought. I weaved though the creepers dangling from the trees and walked up the small mountain to the top where the boys all sat.

"Ah there you are Eleanor, you were in the pool for ages!" Jack said smiling up at me "Care to join us for some freshly caught pig?"

"Yeah I'm starving! I think I fell asleep in the bathing pool, it was just so nice and warm and I didn't really have much energy" I said going over to sit next to him where he handed me a piece of meat on a stick which I cooked in the fire. It was great to finally eat some proper food as all I'd had since I'd woken up from the beach was that sour piece of fruit.

"Nice bath?" Ralph asked, holding his meat over the flames

"Yeah I feel so much cleaner! But my hairs going to go so frizzy"

"No you look beautiful" Jack said

"Um, you know, compared to the state of the rest of us" He stuttered, blushing.

"So where do you guys sleep at night?" I asked, suddenly realising night time was drawing in

"We made some shelters when we got here; they're down on the beach. They don't quite match to the kind of comfy mattress we'd have at home but we did our best, got lots of leaves and stuff so you're not quite on the floor."

"Sounds good"

"Want to share mine, Sam'n'Eric's tonight?" Ralph asked from across the fire "It's probably the least crowded out of all the shelters. There's not very many as most of the boys went off hunting while they were being made" He said, frowning at Jack slightly, who glared back. There was clearly some tension between those two.

"Yeah ok" I replied "As long as the others don't mind?"

"It would be our pleasure" Sam said, and Eric nodded.

"Yeah I'd offer to share my shelter with you but there's not much spare room. Roger takes up most of the space" He said smirking at Roger. I saw what he meant, Roger was huge! Not fat but just really tall with big broad shoulders. Not someone you'd want to get on the wrong side of!

"Where's Simon?" I asked after realising the small boy was missing from the circle

"Oh he's probably meditating with the birds or something!" Roger joked which was met with sniggers from Jack, Robert and Maurice.

"He likes to be alone" Ralph stated.

"He's a weird one that boy, barely talks and was constantly fainting when we were singing in the choir, remember that time when..!" Jack burst into laughter before finishing the story and all his hunters burst into laughter with him. I guessed the hunters were all the other boys from the choir.

Ralph walked over to me from across the circle

"Shall I show you to the shelters?" he asked holding out his hand which I took, standing up

"Night boys!" I said waving to the crowd as I walked back down the mountain with Ralph

"Night" They all replied.

Our shelter consisted of three large branches with one end stuck in the sand and the other ends resting against each other to make a kind of pyramid shape and these ends were tied together with seaweed. Big Palm leaves covered the top and sides of the shelters and one lifted up to use as a door. Ralph and I went inside and lied down on the bed of leaves.

"Much more comfortable than the forest floor!" I said "What's up with you and Jack by the way? You seem tense"

"He wanted to be the chief as well but I won the vote and he's been acting sour ever since. He wants to have the power. I let him be the leader of the hunters as he was the leader of their choir, also I had to give him some kind of job to keep him happy. Otherwise..."

"Otherwise what?"

"When he's angry, there's something in his eyes. He becomes someone else when he's angry, he gets this look in his eyes like, like he wants to kill someone.


	5. The perfect killer

I woke up with my head on Ralph's chest; the tent was stuffy and humid so I got up and lifted the palm leaf door which let a slight breeze in. I walked into the woods in search for some fruit to eat, hopefully I'd be able to find a different type of fruit from that disgusting lump of sour stuff jack had given me. I saw some berries up a tree so I started climbing it. I plucked a few of the berries off the tree and carefully climbed back down. I heard footsteps coming through the foliage then Jack popped out of the creepers.

"Morning" I said as I lifted a berry to my mouth

"Mor.. oh god don't eat them!" he said swatting the berries from my hand "Those ones are poisonous, some kid ate them when we got here and he died. Sorry I forgot to warn you."

"Oh, well thanks! You just saved my life Merridew! Are there any other types of fruit I can eat apart from those sour things?"

"Um, yes there's some this way that taste a bit like peaches" he said leading me through the creepers and fallen trees to a clearing.

"I'll toss a few down then we can give them out to everyone" he said climbing the tree to the fruit. "Heads up" he said throwing the fruit down.

"Alright Jack, no more now! Jack! I can't carry anymore!" I laughed as I looked up at him from behind the huge pile of fruit in my arms. He climbed down and took half from my arms and we walked to the platform where all the boys sat chatting.

"We got some fruit" I said handing them out to the little'uns who eagerly bit into them. I went and sat next to Ralph handing him a piece of fruit.

"Thanks for warning me about the poisonous berries in the forest" I said smirking at his guilty face. "I nearly ate one earlier"

"Oh I totally forgot about those!" He said with a hand on his forehead

"I got there just in time" Jack said proudly from across the platform

"Thank god for that!" Ralph replied and I saw him smile at Jack for the first time since I got there.

I spent the day doing some maintenance on some of the little'uns' huts which were looking a bit worse for wear then I went to help Ralph collect some more firewood.

"The idea is that if a ship goes by they'll see the smoke from the fire and come to rescue us" he informed me while we walked up the mountain.

"But no ships have gone by yet?"

"Well, there was one but the fire had pretty much gone out as no one had been there to put on more wood as they'd all gone off hunting with Jack. So the ship went by and didn't see us." He said,

frowning. "We could've got rescued if it wasn't for Jack and his hunters not taking their shift to go hunting instead"

"Yes but then I would've woken up here and you would've all been already gone." I added

"That's true; I would never have met you if we'd been rescued" he smiled at me

"Yeah but obviously being rescued would be better!" I laughed

"hmm, I dunno you are pretty special" He said quietly perhaps not meaning for me to hear it.

I smiled at him and started walking back down the mountain into the forest. I was making my way through the creepers when I came face to face with a black and green face. I jumped back from it and crashed my back into a tree, it covered my mouth before I could scream.

"Shh don't worry it's me Jack!" he said and my body un-tensed and he took his hand away from my mouth.

"God Jack!" I yelled smacking his arm "You scared me! What's on your face?"

"This is my war paint to help me with the hunting, it's like a camouflage"

"Where's all your hunters?" I asked seeing he was alone

"Oh I thought I'd go alone today, they're all a bit too noisy and tend to scare the pigs off. Whereas I am like a hunting ninja! Silent as the night!" he said smirking.

"hmm, well I'll leave the hunting ninja to his work" I laughed rubbing the back of my head which was now aching quite a bit from when I crashed into it.

He smiled then crept back into the trees, he was right though, he was completely silent. The perfect killer.


	6. The Sanctuary

I was walking back through the jungle to the beach when I heard rustling in the bushes, I got down on my knees and under the leaves I could see a pair of feet.

"Hello?" I said crawling through a small opening in the hedges to see Simon sitting in the middle who was watching a small butterfly. He snapped out of his trance when he saw me and shuffled over to allow me to sit next to him.

"What are you doing in here?" I asked, contemplating our surroundings. I could see why he'd like it there, it was peaceful and there were small flowers sprouting out of the ground all around us.

"I like to sit here sometimes, to get away from it all." He said quietly, gently stroking the petals on a flower. Normally when I sat on the ground I'd instantly start picking flowers but I could tell that was the kind of thing Simon would never do, he was one of those people who'd never kill a fly, or indeed a flower.

"I'm getting worried about Jack" he said

"Me too, he's changing" I replied, remembering the way he'd crept through the trees without making a sound, closing in on the prey without it having a clue he was there.

"I've seen him hunting, he's so quiet then he attacks the pig like an animal with no hesitation whatsoever of ending its life. When we got here the first pig got away because he couldn't face killing it but now I think that innocence has gone." Simon had fear in his eyes when he spoke of Jack, but then so did lots of the boys but they tried to hide it.

"He had war paint on earlier like a mask. When he's not hunting he just seems like a normal friendly boy but with the paint on he's like a different person."

"I'd stay away from him if I were you. You haven't seen the real Jack. He's so friendly around you but I was in his choir and I tell you, you don't wanna get on the wrong side of him. I'd stick around with Ralph, the island hasn't had as much of an effect on him." When he said about the island having an effect I realised he was right. The boys I saw on the plane were children, laughing and playing but those boys were fading. The little'uns were so much quieter now and didn't have gleaming eyes and beaming faces anymore.

"Eleanor.." Simon started, breaking me out of my thoughts "Ralph really likes you, I've heard him talking about you"

"Really?" I asked, I'd felt attracted to the boy since the start but I didn't realise he liked me back!

"But, Jack likes you too. When he speaks to you he's a different person to the one who yells at the choir and argues with Ralph. All that anger in his eyes disappears when he's with you. I think you do good for him. You make him normal again."

"I'll speak to him about things later, I'd better go help with the fire. I can't see as much smoke coming off it. Thanks Simon, for letting me know" I said hugging him before crawling back out of the bushes.

So Ralph liked me back! I smiled to myself happily. I collected some more leaves and branches for the fire and walked up the mountain where I found Ralph at the top, sitting with his legs over the edge looking out at the horizon.

"Do you ever think another boat will come?" he asked as I threw the branches onto the fire. How had he known it was me without even looking?

"I don't know I hope so!" I said walking over to sit next to him. I'd been told he liked me but I wanted to find out for myself so I leaned over and planted my lips on his. I felt him kissing back and he wrapped his arms round me, deepening the kiss. It looked like Simon had been right!


	7. The attack

**A/N thanks for the positive feedback I've had! Sorry I haven't updated for a while coz I've been on holiday and I was going to give up on this coz I thought it wasn't very good but I will continue as requested!**

I woke up the next morning huddled up on Ralph's chest with his arm round me. I quietly got up and went for a walk in the jungle before anyone else was up. Or so I thought. I heard voices and ducked down behind a tree and peered around to see Jack and Roger standing there talking.

"Jack, ever since that girl got here you've been acting weird, what the hell's up with you?" Roger said to Jack frowning

"What do you mean? I haven't changed!" Jack replied angrily

"You've gone all soft and you're not bringing back as much meat as you were before. You've got to think of the rest of the tribe! They're relying on you to bring back food on your own as you said you were going to do it alone."

"Yeah I know, I've just been distracted. I'll bring back lots today I promise" And with that Jack went off through the trees and Roger went the other way. I came out from my hiding spot and as I walked across the clearing a twig snapped behind me and an arm clamped round my neck while a hand covered my mouth.

"You've been nothing but trouble you know, ever since you've been here Jack's gone all soppy and abandoned his plans of taking over the tribe that was rightfully his. I think I need to get you out of the picture." Hissed the voice. I wriggled under his tight grip trying to get away but he pulled me in closer and brought his spear to my neck. I shut my eyes tightly and waited for death but then I felt the spear point lifting from my neck.

"GET OFF HER ROGER!" yelled a voice and I opened my eyes to see Jack running over and punching Roger in the face. He yanked my away from him while I tried to regain my breath. We ran through the forest and out onto the beach where he sat me down on a rock and sat beside me panting.

"Are you ok? What happened?"

"I..er, well Roger said all this stuff about me causing trouble to you and wanted to kill me" I stuttered rubbing my sore neck, still feeling Roger's vice like grip around it.

"You haven't caused trouble though; you've helped make me a better person and made this island more sufferable"

"Thanks" I said smiling then I saw Ralph's head pop out of our hut and he came over.

"Hi! I was wondering where you'd gone! What's been going on?" He said sitting down next to me.

"hmm, just a near death experience" I said smirking

"Roger tried to stab her with his spear but I gave him a good punch in the face. I think he's still lying in there somewhere" Jack said pointing to the jungle.

"What do you mean he tried to stab her!? Why?" Ralph exclaimed his eyebrows disappearing under his floppy fringe.

"Roger said I was getting in the way of Jack's plans to take over the tribe. Actually Jack, what was that all about? I said remembering Roger's words

"Well before you showed up I wanted to take over the tribe, I'm used to being in control what with the choir and all. Roger and I had been planning to take over or make our own tribe but when you came I kinda got distracted from our plan and abandoned it." Jack said to the floor looking slightly ashamed.

"Well at least you changed your mind. But if you wanted power why did you decide to do hunting alone instead of leading your hunters?" Ralph asked.

"They didn't have the skill for it like I did. They were all too noisy and kept scaring away the pigs. Alone I can creep up on one silently without it having a clue"

Unknown at the time, Roger was in the jungle planning things. Deciding who to kill first.


	8. The Kiss

"Well I'm gonna go have a wash" Ralph said getting up "what are you two up to?"

"Well I'll probably go hunting, wanna come El?" Jack asked and I hesitated. I wasn't sure if I wanted to see an animal getting killed but didn't have anything else to do so I agreed and walked with Jack.

He took us to his hut where there were coconut shells with his camouflage paints in. He took some brown and green and smeared it over his face then put some on mine.

"urgh how can you wear this stuff on your face!" I said as the gooey mud paints covered my skin

"You'll get used to it" He chuckled "Anyway it's really helpful" He chucked me a spear and we walked into the jungle. He was a few steps in front of me so I copied where he placed his feet and crept as quietly as possible although I was nowhere near as quiet as him. Whenever I stepped I heard leaves rustle or twigs snap beneath me but Jack's steps were soundless. He suddenly stopped and I almost crashed into him as I'd been looking at the ground trying to avoid stepping on twigs.

"There's a pig just over there between those bushes" He whispered and I could only just hear him. We crept silently towards the pig which trotted around eating berries off a bush and when we were just a few steps away a stumbled over a tree root which stuck up over the ground and let out a yelp as I crashed into Jack who pulled me up. The pig heard and ran into the trees and I cursed angrily, feeling guilty.

"I'm so sorry! I'll catch it!" I said to Jack before sprinting after the pig with my spear. Adrenaline was pumping through my veins as I raced through the jungle, swiping creepers out of the way. I was determined to catch the pig after scaring it away but I wasn't entirely sure what I'd do once I caught it. I could hear Jack running along behind me but I was quite far ahead of him. I'd forgotten how fast I could run when I'd wanted to! I was getting closer to the pig which despite its stumpy legs, could race along pretty fast! I was right behind it so I dived on it and rolled over with the pig in my arms which was kicking about wildly. Jack caught up, smiling at my achievement as he got out his dagger. I rolled over so the pig was beneath me and I held it down and looked into its eyes as the life left them.

"You caught it!" Jack said beaming at me as he pulled out his dagger.

"I can't believe it!" I cried out happily while rubbing my stomach which was aching from where one of its feet had kicked me when I'd caught it. I got up and brushed leaves off myself, examining my filthy clothes from where I'd dived onto the ground.

"You should always come with me!" Jack said

"Yeah but I scared it away! Wasn't exactly your silent as the night approach!"

"True but It worked OK didn't it?" He laughed picking up the dead pig "Pretty big one too! Everyone's gonna be really happy with you!" We walked up the mountain to the top where the tribe sat eating fruit and their eyes lit up as they saw the huge pig. Jack put it on a large stick over a fire to let it cook while the boys drooled hungrily.

"It's massive!" shrieked a little'un excitedly

"Eleanor caught it! It ran off and she chased it through the forest and dived on it! It was awesome!" Jack said and I smiled awkwardly. Jack cut of pieces of pork for everyone and we ate while watching the sun set.

"You wanna get that paint off now El?" Ralph asked passing me a coconut shell full of water.

"Oh yeah! Forgot I had it on!" I replied. Jack had been right, I had got used to having it on. I washed the paint off with the water and dried my face with the bottom of my shirt. Jack washed his off and I'd forgotten how attractive he was under the mask. His face was tanned and his skin seemed to glow as he sat next to the fire. I shouldn't have been thinking like that considering I'd kissed Ralph yesterday. Who was also looking immensely attractive at the time. Dammit. Gradually more and more of the boys left the fire to get to bed, little'uns first then the older boys later on. I continued to sit as I was still eating and Jack stayed with me. When I'd finished eating I glanced at him to see he had already been staring at me.

"What?" I asked before his lips crashed to mine. I hadn't been expecting it so I hadn't had any breath in my lungs. I wanted to break away to get some air but then I couldn't bring myself to do it. Jack kissed so differently to Ralph who had been gentle and slow whereas Jack kissed fiercely and desperately. I finally broke away as I felt like my lungs were about to burst when I saw Ralph standing across the fire from us.

"I just came to.. oh never mind" He said before walking back down the mountain.

"Raph wait!" I cried, getting up to follow him, leaving Jack sitting alone. I felt kind of bad abandoning him but I was full of guilt after seeing the sadness on Ralph's face. He was now running down the mountain and I was starting to catch up but when I got into the jungle I couldn't spot him anywhere. I stood still for a moment catching my breath while I tried to spot him when I felt something hard hit the back of my head. I crashed onto the ground and screamed as a body pounced on me.


	9. The Blood

Jack's POV:

I heard a scream from the forest, something had happened to Eleanor! I ran down the mountain and through the creepers and I couldn't see her anywhere. I went to see if she was in her shelter but when I got there I saw Ralph pacing up and down in front of it.

"Have you seen Eleanor? I heard a scream..." I said worriedly.

"No, she was following me and I heard her scream but when I looked back I couldn't see her anywhere. I don't know where she's gone!" Ralph replied, gnawing on his fingernails. Something bad had happened to her I could feel it so I ran back into the trees looking for her again. I searched everywhere but I was about to give up when I saw a small pool of blood on the floor. She must have been attacked by something, or someone. Whatever it was must have taken her away as she was nowhere to be seen. I was walking back to the shelters when I saw Roger.

"Hey, have you seen Eleanor?" I asked the boy and a worried look appeared on his face. Strange for the boy who had tried to kill her previously.

"No.. I heard the scream but I didn't see her anywhere, I was..yeah. Wait! She was chasing Ralph right and, he was mad at her. Maybe.." It suddenly dawned on me, what if Ralph had done something to her? "I saw her following him and he looked really angry.. maybe he, maybe he killed her!" Roger said wide eyed.

"Why are you so worried, you didn't like her!" I said, confused by the way he was acting.

"No it's just I thought Ralph loved her but he was the only one in there at the time so he must have done it." He explained. Maybe Roger was right, it did seem to add up as all the other boys were in bed and I was up the mountain. Ralph had attacked the girl I loved and he was gonna pay for it.

"I am not letting that murderous bastard be in charge anymore!" I yelled as I stomped back to the huts to find Ralph but he wasn't there anymore.

"Must've legged it" Roger said "Knew you'd be after him when you realised". I was filled with worry, that bastard had barged in when I finally managed to kiss Eleanor then acted all upset but why, he didn't have proper feelings for her like I did. I'd found her, I'd stopped her eating poisonous berries, I'd saved her from Roger. What had Ralph done for her? I wanted to punch Roger in the face when I remembered how he'd nearly killed her but he had helped me realise Ralph wasn't as innocent as he acted. I ran through the forest again desperately hoping to find her but I had no luck. I went back to the spot where the blood was hoping to find a trail but there wasn't one.

I checked the beach, the mountain and I went up to Castle Rock and she wasn't there either. What had the bastard done with her!? I felt like crying knowing the girl I'd loved had surely been killed but I had to hold the tears back with Roger standing there.

"That's it I'm making my own tribe, I'm taking on Ralph. I won't be in any tribe of his anymore" I yelled with a mixture of fury, worry and grief running through me. I went to my shelter and woke up the boys in it "Robert, Maurice, Bill get up and come with me. We're separating from the tribe" I told them and they got out of their hut, collected their things and followed me and Roger to Castle Rock where I'd decided would be our new camp.

"Next time we hunt, it won't be for pigs"


	10. The Cave

Ralph's Pov:

I spent all night searching for Eleanor but I couldn't find her anywhere and when I woke up in the morning half the tribe had gone.

"Where is everyone?" I asked Piggy who had just come out the forest with armfuls of fruit.

"Jack went off with Roger, Maurice, Robert and Bill to Castle rock. I heard him saying stuff about making his own tribe and he thinks you killed Eleanor.

"What!?" I yelled. Why the hell would I kill Eleanor!

"Roger was saying to him that you were mad at her and it was just you two in the forest when she screamed so they all reckon it was you!" Piggy explained.

"If Roger knew all of this though he must have been round the whole time. Everyone else was in the huts and Jack was up the mountain so it must've been Roger! Certainly wasn't me" That git had done something to Eleanor but was she still alive? And now I had a whole new tribe plotting against me to think about as well, also they had gone off with all the spears which was convenient.

"We'll need to make some spears. Tonight we attack"

Eleanor's POV:

I opened my eyes but I couldn't see a thing. Where the hell was I? Wherever I was it was dark and cold and I could vaguely hear the sound of waves outside. I guessed I was in a small cave hidden in the rocks by the beach. I rubbed the back of my head which was throbbing painfully and when I looked at my hand it had blood on it. I went to stand up but found I was tied up with something, probably sea weed. I started remembering what had happened the night before: Kissing Jack, chasing Ralph into the forest then someone attacking me but I didn't remember seeing a face. I struggled against the sea weed which tied my hands to two large rocks which lay behind me and the weeds tying my ankles together but I couldn't get out of them. I froze when I heard footsteps coming towards me. "The tide will be coming in soon you know" It growled as it stood over me "The water will come in and get deeper and deeper while you lie there until the cave is full. Then that'll be you gone." It chuckled quietly as it knelt down beside me. All I could see was a dark outline of a body but I could see the shape of its broad shoulders which I recognised.

"Roger!" I yelled and he clamped his hand to my mouth silencing me.

"I think we'll be in need of some more sea weed here" He muttered and he tied some round my mouth and I could taste the saltiness on it from the sea making me want to be sick. "Shame I have to do this, you're a pretty girl but with you around Jack will never kill that Ralph." My eyes widened as I heard the plan. They were going to attack Ralph's tribe and kill them all, Ralph, the twins, Piggy and poor Simon. So sweet and innocent. I wriggled against my restraints and I felt his hand trace lines up and down my leg.

"erof" I mumbled through the seaweed gag round my mouth trying to tell him to get off.

"What was that dear?" He murmured stroking my inner thighs and tears sprung to my eyes. I really didn't want this and I brought my knees up and they hit him in the stomach and the backed away growling.

"Wouldn't have gone any further anyway, not with garbage like you" He snarled then he smacked my head with a rock and I blacked out.


	11. The Escape

I woke up again with another throbbing headache thanks to that git and in the darkness I could feel cold water lapping against my feet. The tide was starting to come in and I was trapped in a dark cave, oh joy! I desperately tried to yank my wrists out of their ties but it wouldn't tear and now the sea water was coming further into the cave and was pooling round my thighs. I yelled out various names madly hoping one of them would be around to hear but I had no luck, I wasn't even sure what time of day it was. The water was all around me now but still shallow so I continued to yank on the sea weed that tied me to the rocks and finally the weeds tying my right arm to a large rock tore. One arm was out but the water was getting deeper and was up to my ears now, I could sit up a bit now as only one of my arms was tied but it was a struggle getting it undone.

"Boodphy noy nhoush" I muttered against the sea weed over my mouth assuming boy scouts was where Roger had learnt to tie this intricate knot. I was bad at undoing knots when I had both hands let alone one! The water was getting higher and now covered the rock my left hand was tied to so I went back to yanking on it but Roger had put so many darn layers of it on! The water was up to my chin when I eventually managed to tear the seaweed and I yanked the sea weed off from round my mouth and when I went to stand up I remembered the sea weed that tied my ankles together. I sat up as straight as I could so my head was out the water and pulled my ankles away from each other with all my strength trying to break the weeds but ankles aren't exactly muscly so this proved a problem. I pulled on it with my ankles and hands as the sea water continued to pour into the cave and it was now up to my mouth so I could only breath through my nose. The weeds round my ankle were too thick to tear so I knew if I wanted to get out I was going to have to go with my ankles tied together. I stood up so now the water was only up to my knees but moving was difficult, I gripped to the rocky wall and tried to hop forwards but hopping with your ankles tied is bad enough without knee deep water slowing you down too! I hopped again and wobbled, falling back into the water which went over my head. I pulled myself up again gasping for air and tried to pull myself along, holding onto the wall.

"How long is this bloody cave!" I complained as I turned a corner to see another water filled passage. I hopped slowly through the now thigh deep water trying to reach the opening, I'd say light at the end of the tunnel but there wasn't any as it was now dark outside. I blundered through the water trying not to fall down in the now chest deep water and I was nearing the cave entrance when my feet slipped down a hole in the sand and I splashed face first into the water. I shut my eyes when the salty water stung them and fumbled round trying to find the cave wall. I grabbed it and pulled myself up blinking the stinging water out my eyes and lifted myself up slightly to bring my feet out the hole. The water was touching my chin now and I was panicking a lot. I hopped/shuffled as fast as I could but it was like a nightmare when you're being chased and suddenly you can't run properly like you're legs are stuck in mud. I fought against the water that was trying to push me back from the entrance and tried to breathe through my nose as my mouth was now in the water. I finally got to the end of the cave and I was knocked into the water by a wave but the current made it impossible to get back up to the surface so I swam (mermaid style what with the legs stuck together) under the water in the general direction of the beach. I reached the shore and dragged myself up the sand as far away from that evil water as possible, coughing and spluttering.

I lay on my back for a moment breathing deeply just cherishing the air, something you normally take for granted but after that experience I appreciated it a lot more. I found a jagged stone amongst some rocks nearby and hacked at the sea weed until my ankles were free. I was completely parched after having a day with no water, stuck in that cave so I stood up wobbling slightly and headed for the huts where we had some purified water. Our huts were on the beach on the other side of the forest, I pondered about going around the forest sticking to the beach but I didn't want to have to leave it any longer than necessary. I crossed the forest as quietly as I could worried something would hear me and attack as I had bad memories in there. I was halfway across when I trod on a twig which snapped loudly and instantly I head movement amongst the trees.

"Bloody twig!" I hissed kicking it aside as my eyes darted around my surroundings nervously.

"ATTACK!" I heard boys screaming from either side of me and from my left came Ralph's tribe of him, Piggy, Samneric, Simon and a few little'uns armed with rocks (obviously not trusted with spears). And to my right was Jack's tribe: Him, Roger and 3 others but I didn't know who was who as they were all coated in war paint.

"STOP!" The leaders yelled from both side seeing it was me and their tribes skidded to a halt. "Eleanor you're alive!" Ralph said beaming and I glanced at the tall boy with broad shoulders and a painted face who glared at me with pure hatred in his eyes.


	12. The Decision

"Well Eleanor, it's time to choose a tribe" Said Jack. I'd been dreading this moment as I loved both boys and didn't want to have to choose between them. Jack had been there for me from the start and had saved my life several times but he had Roger in his tribe and he and I didn't exactly see eye to eye (in more ways than one as he was so tall it was more eye to chest). I loved Ralph but if I chose him, Jack's tribes of savages would be sure to kill him and they were more experienced killers. I didn't want to see Ralph and his tribe slaughtered like Jack's pigs. I stood there in the middle looking from one tribe to the other, with the leaders of both looking at me with pleading eyes.

"I..I choose" I started still not entirely sure on my decision but wanting to break the deadly silence. "Um..Ralph's tribe" I almost whispered it, dreading the reaction of the other tribe and Ralph came up to me and hugged me tightly before bringing me over to his group who all smiled at me gratefully. I couldn't bear to look at their faces knowing because of me these innocent boys would be hunted down and possibly killed. I don't know what I expected from Jack's tribe but their reaction was not what I thought it would be. Jack stared at me in shock, anger and disbelief with his mouth open like he was going to speak but no sound came out. Roger was grinning however as now he knew he'd be able to kill me as I wasn't on their side, I looked away from his evil glare back to Jack who finally spoke.

"We battle when the conch is blown" He said before pulling his spear from the ground where the point had been stuck in and he turned on the spot and walked away without a backwards glance with his loyal tribe following him.

"Welcome back!" Ralph said beaming before hugging me again and Piggy, Samneric, Simon and the little'uns joined in.

"We thought you'd been killed!" Simon said smiling with relief "Where have you been?"

"I woke up in a cave by the beach, Roger had tied me up there and I got out just before the tide filled up the cave. By the way, how come the tribe split?"

"We reckon Jack thinks I was the one who tried to kill you" Ralph told me

"What!? Why would he think that?" I yelled in disbelief.

"We think Roger fed him the idea to get back in Jack's good books" Said Piggy pushing his glasses up his nose.

"We know it was Roger but Jack doesn't" Said Ralph

"Well just let me tell him it wasn't you then there won't have to be a fight!" I said heading in the direction Jack had gone.

"No if any of our tribe go there they'll think we're attacking and kill us. Anyway Roger knows what he's doing, he'll persuade Jack it wasn't him. The battle has to go ahead."

Jack's POV:

"I can't believe she' joined the boy who tried to kill her!" I yelled furiously stabbing my dagger into a tree.

"She obviously doesn't think it was him, she won't accept the truth" Roger said sharpening his spear. "You need to kill that Ralph before he does her any more harm if you love her so much." I thought about this, yes I could kill Ralph but Eleanor seemed to really love him and even if Ralph was gone she could never be mine if I'd killed him. She'd never speak to me again, she'd probably kill me. I didn't know what was best.

"Ralph was acting so happy to have her back but I bet he's still mad at her, who knows what he's planning. You'd better watch your back mate, he'll be after you know as you kissed his girl" Roger told me.

"I didn't know she was his girl! He doesn't deserve her" I shouted angrily, continuing to walk back to castle rock. When that conch blew, Ralph would be the first one I'd kill. It may not be what Eleanor wanted but it was what I wanted. That lying git was going to pay.

Eleanor's POV:

I sat outside our hut sharpening a stick to make a spear. I felt strangely calm despite the imminent battle, I just wanted Roger dead. He was the evil one on this island not Jack and without him there to encourage Jack to be savage, he could go back to being that civilised boy I met in the forest on my first day. I didn't hear Ralph come up to me as I'd tuned out the noise of my surroundings, the little'uns running round shrieking nervously, the waves crashing fiercely against the rocks. I snapped out of it when I felt him tap my shoulder.

"El, I don't want you fighting. I want you to be safe" He said pushing my spear to the floor.

"No Ralph! I am going to fight and you can't stop me!" I replied angrily. Just because I was a girl doesn't mean I couldn't kill.

"No I don't want to see you get killed!" He shouted with a mixture of anger and sadness in his voice.

"Ralph I'm going to fight and anything you say won't stop me. I'm going to kill"


	13. The Conch

"Do you think the little'uns should be fighting? Some of them are really young" I asked Ralph, glancing over to the little'uns. Some were excitedly collecting sharp rocks to throw in the battle, others were nervously pacing up and down and some were just crying.

"We've encouraged them to join in as we need all the help we can get but it's up to them if they want to fight or not. Most of them have said yes and most of the ones who said no were persuaded by the ones who were joining so we've only got a couple who are staying here. They are the youngest so it's understandable" Ralph told me. I really admired the little'uns bravery; they had been just little school boys when they came here but they'd matured and grown a lot braver since.

"So who'd blowing the conch at the start?" I asked suddenly remembering what Jack had said about the battle starting when it was blown.

"Well I'm supposed to be but I need to find it first! Think it's at the platform, I'm gonna go get it" and he stood up and walked into the trees. I looked round and saw Piggy sitting alone staring at his spear through his grubby cracked glasses.

"I wonder what my auntie would say about all this" He said as I sat down next to him.

"_Sucks to your auntie!"_ Shouted the little'uns in unison obviously having picked it up off Ralph.

"She'd be proud of you" I said putting my hand on his shoulder "She'd be really proud of how brave you've been. And how brave you're going to be." He smiled back and wiped his glasses on his shirt which didn't really help seeing as his shirt was filthy too. He must have been doing it out of habit.

"Piggy, I just want to say that I'm really sorry. If I'd never shown up all this wouldn't be happening" I said guiltily.

"No it's not your fault" He replied "Its Roger's really; he kidnapped you which made the boys assign blame which made them turn on each other. But anyway there probably would've been a battle in the end even if you weren't here. We're boys so there's always something to fight about!" He explained which made me feel slightly better. I was mentally praying that Piggy would survive the battle; he was the most intelligent one on the island and had always tried to keep order. If things were turning crazy with him around I couldn't imagine what it would be like if he wasn't.

**Jack's POV:**

Castle Rock was eerily quiet all except the quiet chanting "_Kill the pig, cut her throat, bash her in_", sung by my tribe as they sharpened spears, made sling shots and coated themselves in war paint. I didn't know why Ralph's tribe was bothering; we had much more of an advantage than them. We were painted so we were almost impossible to spot, we had more experience in hunting and killing and we were all over the age of 14 whereas Ralph had a mixture of ages in his tribe and some of them were tiny. They had no chance. Sure they had a few more members than us but those extra ones were just little'uns who'd be killed in an instant. I thought of Eleanor and how I'd fallen in love with her from the moment we met. I didn't want my tribe to kill her but she was on the other side, she was against us so we had no choice. I could give her the choice of joining our tribe just before we killed her but knowing her she'd say no. She was too proud.

"Hunters! In position!" I yelled to my tribe and we walked to the edge of the forest on our side of the island. We stood there, spears held high as we looked into the dark jungle that would be our battle ground. There were no stars tonight; they were hidden under a blanket of dark clouds. It looked like a storm was coming.

Ralph's POV:

"Tribe! Get ready for battle" I shouted and we trooped to our edge of the jungle. I kept Eleanor close by my side, not wanting to lose sight of her and Piggy was on my other side. He'd been so loyal, I'd treated him horribly when we first got here and he'd drove me mad with his constant talk of his ass-mar and his bloody auntie but I'd grown fond of the boy and he'd turned out to be a valuable friend. Simon was there to my surprise, I'd never thought he'd want to take part in a battle, wouldn't hurt a fly that boy but yet there he was with his spear in his hand. I looked round the rest of our tribe and we nodded in silent agreement and I blew the conch and the silence was broken, along with any innocence left on the island. _Time to kill. _


	14. The Battle Begins

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews, favourites and follows! Every single one means the world to me. I so nearly gave up on this story because I thought it was pretty rubbish but I was encouraged to continue and now I'm so glad I did and I've really enjoyed writing it! Hope you enjoy the battle! **

Eleanor's POV:

The conch was blown and I sprinted into the jungle with my spear, searching for the opponents which was harder than it sounds seeing as they were coated in Jack's bloody war paint. I lost sight of Ralph pretty quickly so I was running through the dark jungle alone. I heard screams and cries from amongst the trees to my left but I couldn't see anything so I had no idea who was being attacked. Suddenly I made out a figure, no clue who it was however. I threw my spear at him, it hit his leg and he cried out as he fell to the ground. I ran up to the squirming figure and I could tell it wasn't Jack or Roger so it must've been one of his tribe. I went to stab him with my spear when he grabbed my legs pulling me to the floor and he rolled us over so he was above me. He held his spear to my neck and I used all my strength to try and push him off but he was too strong. I brought my knee up, hitting him between the legs and he rolled off with a moan of pain. I took the opportunity and stabbed him with my spear. I stood over him for a moment with a mixture of happiness and guilt. Oh god I'd just killed someone.

_Meanwhile_

**Jack's POV:**

I charged into the jungle ready to kill and the first person I saw was Piggy. We sprinted at each other and I knocked him to the ground. We rolled over several times and despite being taller and stronger than him, he was much heavier so then he was on top of me it was like all the air was getting squashed out of my lungs.

"Get off me fatty!" I gasped trying to push him off and eventually I managed to shove him off and I got out my dagger ready to kill when I was hit in the back of my head by something sharp. I winced in pain and turned round to see a load of little'uns throwing sharp shards of stone and large rocks at me. I got up and ran after the screaming boys, they were going to pay for getting in the way of my kill. Bloody little'uns.

**Ralph's POV:**

I ran for what seemed like ages and I couldn't find any of jack's tribe. I stood still for a moment and realised I was alone in the clearing and I'd lost sight of Eleanor. Before I could start worrying about her I was knocked to the ground and I felt two hands grab my head and hit it into the ground repetitively. I was getting dizzy and I pretended to fall limp and the hands left my head thinking they'd succeeded. I rolled over and punched the boy in his painted face and he fell onto his back so I seized my chance, I picked up my spear and swung it at him. He grabbed it and tried to push it away so I kicked him between the legs and he let go, allowing me to stab it into his chest. As he lay there bleeding, gradually losing consciousness I saw him go from a ferocious hunter, to a scared school boy and tears spilled out of his pained eyes then eventually they became lifeless. I shut his eyes, feeling it was the right thing to do. He may have been the enemy but at the end of the day we were all just kids. I stood for a moment taking in what I had just done but I heard a high pitched cry from what sounded like a little'un and set out to find them.

**Eleanor's POV:**

I left the dead body and crept through the trees, there could be a war painted boy hidden anywhere in there and I wouldn't see them until the last minute. I heard distant cries and screams but around me it was eerily quiet until I heard a loud cry. I followed the cries and yelps and fought my way through the creepers into a miniature clearing where I saw Roger standing by the bleeding body of Simon.

"SIMON!" I shrieked running up to him and kneeling by his side "Oh Simon, I'm so sorry. Don't die!" I pleaded to the small boy.

"Eleanor" he whimpered quietly

"Yeah?"

"Kick his butt" He whispered with a small smile on his face before his eye lids drooped and he was still. I stood up trying to hold back the tears and slowly turned round to face his killer. Roger. I don't think I'd ever felt so much hate for someone in my entire life. He did have a fair few cuts and bruises on him which showed Simon hadn't gone down without a fight and I knew it was my duty to finish the job. I lunged at Roger and he crashed into a tree, sliding down it to the ground. I brought my spear down and he rolled over just before it stuck him. He swung his at my legs, knocking me to the ground and his climbed on top of me and dragged his spear along my cheek leaving a long cut. I cried out in pain and pushed his arm away and punched him in on the nose and he rolled off clutching his bleeding face before glaring at me angrily.

"Oh shit" I muttered as he stood up and strode towards me with his spear. I crawled backwards until my back hit a tree so I stood up ready to face him. He pinned me against it and punched me hard in the face. It hurt like hell but I refused to cry out, not wanting to give him the satisfaction. He brought his hand up to do it again but I ducked under it and head butted him in the chin making him stumble backwards. I pushed him down and stabbed at him with my spear and grabbed my neck and squeezed it hard cutting off my air. I felt myself weakening and he took his chance and rolled on top of me to increase the force on my neck. Blood from his wounds dripped down on my body and I could see his eyes drooping, he wouldn't be conscious for much longer surely. I still had my spear in my hand which lay by my side so I weakly brought it up and stabbed at his side with it as it was the only part of him I could get to with it. I pushed it into his side with all my remaining strength and black dots started floating across my vision. I had to kill him before he killed me! Finally he rolled off me and crashed to the floor dead and I gasped for air. I went to get up but I was overcome with dizziness and everything blurred and I felt my head hit the floor.


	15. The Rescue

Everything was black but I could faintly hear a distant voice yelling my name, who was it though? Was it Ralph or was it one of Jack's tribe trying to find me so they could kill me? Then I heard nothing for a while, I think I was fully unconscious at that point but then I felt something pushing against my chest hard then a load or air rushed through me and I woke up coughing.

"Oh thank god I thought you weren't going to wake up!" Said the boy, once my eyes had adapted to our dark surroundings I could see it was Ralph sitting next to me. I sat up slowly, moaning as everything ached like hell especially my neck.

"See you managed to take out Roger" Ralph said nodding to the dead boy lying next to us. "I killed one of them earlier, not sure who it was under all that paint."

"Yeah I killed someone else before Roger too" I told him

"I think Jack's still out there and I think there's about one member of his tribe left, Robert, Maurice or Bill. We were looking for them for a while but couldn't spot them then I thought I'd start looking for you instead as I hadn't seen you since the start. Then I found you and Roger on the floor, I honestly thought you'd been killed!"

"So did I! He was strangling me and I was stabbing him at the same time but I lasted a bit longer than him luckily. We better get back to the fight" I said standing up and picking up my spear. We walked back through the trees and creepers out of the mini clearing into the dense forest and something seemed different. It had been hard to see in there before but now it was worse and there was a strong smell in the air. Like smoke.

"Maurice has set the bloody forest on fire!" shrieked a little'un as he ran past us then through the trees I could see an orange glow which was quickly advancing. The smoke was filling the jungle and made every breath sting.

"We've got to get out" Yelled Ralph and we ran through the trees covering our mouths. It was almost impossible to see properly as it was night time and the air was thick with dark smoke. We crashed our way through the creepers, tripping on tree roots and fallen branches and the flames carried on chasing us and were catching up.

"Where are we?" I asked, realising we'd been running for ages and hadn't seen any sign of the beach.

"No idea! Maybe we've gone deeper into the forest by accident" He replied looking round "Let's just keep running and we'll get to the edge of the forest eventually" And with that we carried on blundering through the darkness, crashing into trees and stumbling over logs. I heard distant screams and a loud rumble of thunder from above, the wind was howling and shaking the trees violently and the air was thick with smoke. I was breathing heavily from the running but every breath hurt my insides until I had to stop to vomit from the smoke.

"We've got to keep moving" Ralph said rubbing my back so we started running again and I tried to stop myself from throwing up again. I could feel the heat from the huge fire behind us which made my back hot and sweaty but my face had the freezing cold wind blowing against it. I could see the edge of the forest and the trees were thinning out and I increased my speed knowing we were nearly there. I was going to make it! We were going to be OK! I was running faster than ever before with a smile on my face. I couldn't wait to get out of the darkness and away from the flames onto the beach. You know when you're on holiday as a kid and you see the beach for the first time you just can't wait to get on that soft sand and splash into the sea. Well I felt like that but a million times more desperate to get there. In that moment I didn't see the fallen branch which lay in front of me and I crashed over it onto the ground. The flames were right behind me but when I went to get up my ankle was aching agonizingly and gave way under the pressure and I fell back down. I looked ahead and Ralph was still running, obviously not having heard me fall over the sound of the wind and the crackling sound of the trees igniting. I was stuck there alone waiting for the flames to engulf me when I felt a strong pair of arms pick me up. I saw Ralph stop and look round having realised I wasn't behind him.

"Carry on Ralph, I've got her" yelled a voice and I looked up to see a painted face with floppy ginger hair.


	16. Red Sand

We escaped the fire by an inch and ran onto the soft yellow sand. Jack placed me down on a boulder and stood watching the flames engulf the trees.

"Jack why did you.." I started

"Why did I save you? Well I know we're in different tribes but I couldn't bear to see you die and anyway looks like your tribe's won. No sign of my lot anywhere, fat lot of good they were. I'm sorry for starting all this, it's just, well I was jealous I guess as you chose him over me even though he.."

"It wasn't Ralph that took me it was Roger." I told him

"But I thought Ralph was the only other person in the forest with you at the time so it must have been"

"Yeah well wherever Roger said he was, he wasn't. He attacked me in the forest but I didn't see who it was but then I saw him in the cave. But I guess you could say him and I are even now" I said looking back into the forest where I'd finally managed to kill that boy who I'd had so much hate for.

"Ralph, I know I started all this battle and everything but my tribe are all dead. I know I deserve to be dead too after causing all this but.." Jack started to be cut off by Ralph

"I'm not going to kill you Jack. Your battle caused the death of many of my friends but you did save Eleanor when I failed to, again, and I could never be more thankful" Ralph said and they shook hands. The battle was over. I looked round to see the beach was pretty much empty but I could see Samneric and a few little'uns across the beach. No Simon, no Piggy but at least some of our tribe remained. I sat on my boulder rubbing my sprained ankle and stared out at the horizon where the sun was starting to rise. Ralph and Jack were now lying on the sand asleep and their various cuts bled into the sand. I don't remember falling asleep but I do remember my eyes springing open at the sound of some unfamiliar voices.

"What the hell has been happening here!?" Shouted a shock filled voice. I looked over to see two naval officers walking up the beach and staring from the blackened jungle to the bruised and cut boys who lay on the now reddened sand, with spears lying beside them. I scrambled off my boulder and limped over to Ralph and jack and shook them awake.

"Wake up! There's some naval officers coming and they've got a ship!" I cried excitedly in their ears and at the word ship both pairs of eyes flew open and they got up. Across the beach Samneric were leading the remaining little'uns our way. When they got to us, the officers asked us various questions but we just stood there with our mouths gaping open in shock and occasionally nodded at the odd question then they took us onto their ship and I watched the Island get smaller and smaller as we drifted away until it was no longer in sight.

It felt strange going back to the real world, wearing proper clean clothes, eating full meals and having running water but even though we looked like normal innocent kids on the outside we never forgot the savage killers that we had become in our time on that island. Images of dead bodies and fire flashed though my mind regularly but I did my best to suppress them but it was difficult as murder is something that stays with you forever.

**A/N: It's finished! Thank you for reading to the end and I hope it was worth it! I really didn't want to kill Simon and Piggy but as it's been so different to the book I thought I should try and make some of it the same! I killed the bad characters though so that's something! Jack is quite different in this to the book because he's a bit less evil but I think it's due to Eleanor being there as she kind of keeps him sane and when I read the book I sensed Jack did have a soft side initially like when he doesn't kill the pig the first time so in this I kind of try to hold onto that for a bit longer. He gets a bit more savage in the battle but once his tribe aren't there to spur him on he calms down again. Roger was really the evil one in this not Jack. I hope you liked this different approach! :-s**


	17. A possible future story

**A possible future story:**

**So there are loads of girl on the island fics on here and I thought what if instead of all boys and 1 girl it was all girls and 1 boy? I'm planning on writing a story like that and want to know if you think this could work? I have some characters planned but I don't really have any plot ideas yet! Please let me know if you'd read this story if I wrote it and also I need your opinion on if the boy character should be made up or a character from the original like Ralph or Jack? As all the girls will be made up characters inspired by the boys' personalities I thought maybe there should be one familiar character from the original? **

**So yeah let me know if what you think of this idea! xx**


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